The Accurate Story Behind the Star Spangled Banner

When looking at these pictures of rustic, success, the Messiah or conspiracy the one true one that stands out to me is the wisdom of rustic.  Perhaps it’s me wanting to relive years when things didn’t seem so complicated.  Years when all I had to do after the football game was go to dance clubs with my friends.  Riding my bike up and down the Pacific Coast Highway in California.  Whatever it is my kids have a way of making me feel old.

It shouldn’t be a big thing listening to the radio and the kids hearing a song that I think is great and them laughing at me because it’s so old.  Um wait a minute kids this is from the 80’s, as I exclaim.  But the reality is that we forget about the past and where we come from.  More importantly what had to have happened in the past for us to be here today.

This country that we live in is a great country.  Sure like most things it has its downfalls and issues.  But for the most part it is a land of freedom and opportunity.  The biggest problem with this country is us.  We forget what it means to be free.  Free from tyranny, free from oppression, free of a dictatorship where you are told when and what you can do.  Some of you may say well that was then, this is the 21^st century and that stuff doesn’t go on anymore.

The truth is, it does.  Every day it happens to people all of the World.  The reason why we don’t see it is because of those that have fallen before us.  The great men and women that have fought for us to have earned these freedoms.  The speech I have hear is one that allows us to remember the valor and love that the pioneers of this great country had.

By remembering this we gain as the pastor Dudley Rutherford that is presenting this a sense of pride.  A stance that says I can be a part of something as equal to that by remembering these fallen founders.  Not by spitting on their graves with conflict and destruction within.  For that is the main reason why we have issue in this country and that is that we no longer support each other.  Everyone is out for themselves. 

In this speech you will see firsthand the process premise.  I know I am guilty of not paying attention during the national anthem.  I am guilty of not knowing the story behind the star spangled banner.  But like me I can guarantee that you will be filled with pride in knowing that just like the pioneers of this great country.  That we have had several men and women die for her.  Men that have been in P.O.W. camps for years that stood and took torture because of a code.  A code that characterizes these men to allow themselves to be beaten until they would bend but not break.  To know that they had in some camps 300 plus soldiers that would be willing to be tortured for their friend.  Can we say that today or would we roll over at the first chance possible.

My fear is that this video does not stir you up to action.  For that matter does not stir anything up inside of you.  My hope is that within this you will feel as I did not just a sense of pride but happiness and joy for knowing that someone was brave enough to stand as George Washington did and say “We will die on our feet before we live on our knees”.  Powerful stuff is in this video and it helps us to remember our past with a renewed effort to accomplish whatever we want to in life.  All because someone else showed us how to do it.  When the going gets hard, re-watch this video or many other videos of triumphant valor.  Our history is not just our past but can also be our future.

Wright's Law:  A Unique Teacher Imparts Real Life Lessons by The New York Times 2013

After looking at several speeches and talks I kept coming back to one of my favorite depictions.  In this video the New York Times profiles a science teacher from Louisville Male High School.  Mr. Wright is a man that has engaged his students but most importantly he is a teacher that through the method of B.J. Fogg has the kids coming back for more.   This is not your normal speech but you need to watch it in order to be moved as the kids were and are to this day.

B.J. Fogg uses a method that embraces a core character to why we do things and that is motivation.  Motivation is what drives us to want to be better, to go after that job or to ask that girl across the room out.  But you can see that Mr. Wright motivates by causing the students to feel.  Feel joy and happiness, feel his pain and a parent with a disabled kid.  Feel excitement and hope from knowing that he cares about them.  Incredibly Mr. Wright leaves the kids feeling humbled and motivated.

Fogg’s method does not just use motivation but also uses ability and triggers.  Because Mr. Wright was talking to kids he didn’t use words that they could not understand.  He used demonstration and simple methods to get these kids to learn.  The best one was that he did not push the kids.  He wanted to cause the kids to ask why.  Why does that happen or why did it do that.  That idea was to cause the students to have curiosity.  Curiosity got the kids to want to know more.  Curiosity kept the kids engaged.  This created the ability portion of Foggs’ method, simple and non objectionable.

The last of all his techniques is known as triggers.  Triggers are separated into three areas.  The first is facilitator then signal and finally spark.  Mr. Wright as you can see makes allows himself to be vulnerable which allows the context of what he his saying to stir up everything that he wants the kids to feel.  You can tell that this was not the first time, that he had given this speech to one of his classes.  However, by looking at it you could tell though that through his emotion and the meaning of it all that his message was from the heart.  This caused a light bulb moment for many if not all who attended the class.  I know for myself that I was fortunate to few the video.   Had I had a ticket to a motivational speech from this man I would attend because what he stirred up in me was priceless.

B.J. Foggs’ method of oral presentations is one of the most important and I feel one of the most influential.  Looking at other methods out there I can see where they would work and in almost as quick as an egg timer goes off.  So is the flame of understanding or caring about whatever was said.  But if you touch a person in a way that allows them to feel, then you will create memories for your audience.  Science has proven that memories can be triggered in various locations and times.  It could be a song, an event or maybe a certain food that tasted after a long time.  But this causes our memories to come back and allows us to relive that experience.  Fogg should have changed his name from something meaning obscure and difficult to see through to genius or understandable.  I truly like this method of teaching.